October 05, 2006

Theresa May MP: The best is yet to come

What a lively last day! The highlight of the last day of conference is always the speech by the Leader. David Cameron's speech was no exception - although I have to say that there was rather more hilarity in the 'Meet the Candidates' session earlier today. Seriously David's speech was excellent and certainly pointed a new direction ahead for the Party. He focused on the NHS and the environment, but for the Party moving forward the most significant statement came when he said that when some people complain there are no policies you can’t help but feel that they mean they just want the old policies. As he firmly stated "They aren't coming back and we're not going back."

Returning to the hilarity of the 'Meet the Candidates' session this morning. We started off by singing Happy Birthday to Anne Widdecombe and ended by her thinking my reference to a "set change" was a reference to a "sex change". Mark Menzies had the winning idea which was hardly surprising given the laughter generated by his interchange with Oliver Letwin. When Mark proposed cutting the VAT on low energy lightbulbs, Oliver brought the house down by saying he was confused and didn't understand it… which bit don’t you understand Oliver, cutting, VAT, low, energy or lightbulb? Interesting that two out of the three policies being submitted for review as a direct result of conference's votes in these sessions were policies designed to help the environment and sustain us longer term.

A good conference - not just one that people say has been good because they've forgotten it all in a haze of free drinks, or one that people tell themselves has been good to cheer each other up, but a genuinely good conference where the Party did set a new direction and where the mood was up-beat and enthusiastic, but not over the top. Measured optimism was the order of the day. We know there is more to do, but we can see the way ahead and we've set a clear direction. As David Cameron said: The best is yet to come!

Comments

Ordinary families and old people on fixed incomes are being squeezed into penury by ever increasing high taxation, and industry is losing its competitiveness because of over-regulation from Brussels and high taxation.
High taxes reduce consumer spending, create recession and produce economic instability. Our economically illiterate party leadership needs to visit, New Zealand, Ireland or the USA to see that economic stability and growth can only come by reducing taxes first.
I am curious to know why any Conservative would want to support a party obsessed with being more socialist than the socialists. The Conservative party is a low tax and small government party or it has no reason to exist. If we want a high tax and high spend party we can vote Labour.
Why increase taxes - particularly green taxes - when economic stability can only flow from doing the opposite?
Why support a party pledging to pour more money into the Stalinesque National Death Service and maintaining the Labour governments profligate tax and spend policies when the Labour party does it better?
Why have lots of women and ethnic minorites as MPs because they are women and ethnic minorities, rather than choosing MPs on merit?
Why are sodomite practices now of equal validity with normal sexual behaviour, contrary to nature and scripture ?
Why support the downgrading of ecstasy and cannabis when so many of our crime and social problems are caused by drugs?
Why help developers build on the green belt when there are countless acres of derelict brownfield sites in London and other cities?
Why destroy the few remaining grammar schools (the last bastion of free educational excellence for the middle and working classes? Why support two disastrous military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan where young men are being asked to risk death for no vital national interest other than to protect the vanity of politicians?

At this point of the electoral cycle, and given the government's disastrous reputation and record, we should be at least 10 points ahead in the polls.
All I can say is "remember Bromley". Many of us will refuse to vote for a party which is now supporting policies we have spent our lives fighting by voting Conservative. We can stay at home, vote Independent, or UKIP.
The party made a mistake in electing Cameron - let's hope he goes before the next election and takes Osborne, May, Letwin and Maude with him. A leadership that is dedicated to win at all costs, and at the expense of all principle , deserves to fail.

Peter, While I understand on some points where you're coming from, I am utterly confounded by your outmoded, out-of-touch with the 21st century public's views and feelings.
Cameron is our leader. Get over it because he's good, he's winning over many younger and more diverse sectors of the electorate and we desparately need reform as a political party.
It's people like you who waste your vote on UKIP or some other independant dinosaur style right-wing lot who'll never be in power in our country (phew!)because you hold the views of the minority. Meanwhile though, you're potentially keeping us both unelectable and out of power!
Why do you think we got slaughtered in '97? We've been in obscurity since. And why do you not understand that the nation does not want to bang on about Europe?
Where your info re "sodomite practices" comes from is pretty dicey too....if I recall, as far as nature is concerned, many species aren't fussy about which sex they try to procreate with, and as for the scriptures? Well, the Romans pre-dated Jesus and the scriptures, and they were **agging all and sundry!
What sort of Tory are you who wants to stop everyone from whatever is deemed to be natural behaviour because it doesn't suit you? What consenting adults do sexually is entirely none of anyone else's business! Historically we have always been a broad church.
All you are doing is risking keeping the Conservative Party in opposition. We have spent most of our political history in government, hardly ever in opposition except in this 21st century. You can't seriously allow your vote to let in Gordon Brown (or whoever)/ labour again, at the next election? Stop longing for the clock to be turned back and get with today's Britain.
Of course people want to pay less tax, and of course we ALL know the wars we are fighting in were dishonestly presented to us in Parliament, but the boys are there now and we must see them through and give our troops the unreserved support they deserve. The individuals you name are not unprincipled, they simply understand that like Rome, things cannot be changed from where they are now to where we'd like them to be, in a day. Work with us.